Russian Air Defense System Reportedly Strikes Azerbaijan Airlines Flight, Resulting in 38 Fatalities – One America News Network
OAN Staff James Meyers
8:53 AM – Thursday, December 26, 2024
A Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday was reportedly downed by a Russian air defense system, as per multiple sources who spoke with Reuters.
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An Embraer passenger jet went down near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, resulting in 38 fatalities, after veering away from its intended flight path over a designated area in Russia, which has employed air defense systems against recent Ukrainian drone attacks.
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 deviated hundreds of miles from its planned route between Baku, Azerbaijan, and Grozny, Chechnya, ultimately crashing across the Caspian Sea. Russian aviation authorities attributed the incident to an emergency diversion that may have been triggered by a bird strike.
According to an Azerbaijani source involved in the investigation, preliminary findings indicated that the aircraft was hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system.
“No one suggests that it was intentional. However, given the established facts, Baku anticipates that Russia will acknowledge the downing of the Azerbaijani aircraft,” the source stated.
Authorities have yet to clarify why the plane strayed across the sea.
This incident comes on the heels of several Ukrainian drone strikes targeting the Chechnya region of southern Russia amidst ongoing hostilities between both countries.
Furthermore, the closest Russian airport to the aircraft’s flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
Simultaneously, officials from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia have all called for thorough investigations into the tragic incident.
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